So the wife and I are considering having a kid soon. I’m from the USA and she’s a local Taiwanese.
We’ve been mulling over (see what I did there) whether to have the child be born in the state or here. I know some advantages of each, but I would love to here the collective input of this amazing community.
Thanks.
The paperwork for having your child be a US citizen is fairly straightforward, but traveling to AIT to take care of that business is required. After getting the American birth certificate is the Social Security # issuing. For our first child, we went back to the states to get his #, but for our second, we might have to mail to Manila to do that. I haven’t done that before, so I can’t say how smooth/quick/slow the process is.
With regards to the process of giving birth, we’ve only given birth in Taiwan, but if the wife is Taiwanese, she might be more comfortable talking to nurses and staff in Mandarin during and after the process. The overall “pleasantness” of the experience depends on the hospital/clinic, so plan accordingly. Also, if she’s into the postpartum 1-month care thing, there are many more options for that in Taiwan.
Just some thoughts right off the cuff. Nothing comprehensive.
Have a 16 month old now and will be looking to move back to the states this year (waiting on my wife’s green card)
Overall I think the experience was much more pleasant for my wife here in Taiwan. In addition to the language, the expectations around the “month of rest” were much more in line with what she wanted. In the US I’ve heard they pretty much have you caring for the baby as soon as he/she has cleared the health checks, which I think would have been hard on my wife (instead of 3 days to recover at the hospital like in Taiwan before moving to the 月子中心)
There is the huge financial whammo of the American medical system to consider
does your wife have a green card or US citizenship? if she does then your kid is a PRC national if born in Taiwan and not a PRC national if born in the USA.
if she doesn’t have US documentation and is entering the US on VWP then it doesn’t matter. the kid is a PRC national wherever he is born.
this comes into play when the kid wants to visit or live in mainland China, take the PRC lawyers exam, join the Communist Party, etc.
Wife is Taiwanese and does not hold a green card nor is she a citizen for the USA, that is a process we should start soon, just haven’t.
PRC or ROC?
PRC. This will determine whether the kid can get a Taiwan Compatriot Permit versus a visa in a US Passport.
ROC nationality transfers for an unlimited number of generations as long as one parent in the chain is a national.
Unless you’re concerned that your son has to do four months of military training and be part of the reserves until he’s age 36, I would just do the birth at whatever place you happen to be living.
If she gets a green card you have to visit the US every few months to maintain it and file US taxes every year. If she doesn’t she can only stay for 90 days which is not a good amount of time to be traveling either before or after giving birth.
Nice to see my thread has been able to debate whether or not native born Americans are able to hold the office of President or not.
Back to the actual topic, thanks for those who have shared their input so far. Ya, the cost savings is definitely a big reason to consider Taiwan, plus their one month postpartum care.
I was mainly concerned with citizenship.
I suppose other concerns to have is more further down the line though with early childhood education. Definitely cost wise Taiwan would win, but what other points are in favor or against raising a child in Taiwan besides the states?
if you are legally married and your name is on the birth certificate there shouldn’t be any problem applying for usa passport in Taiwan. it might be a longer process, but not difficult.
problems start when you are not married and you cant easily prove you are the parent.
this is one the most common debates here on the forum, and from what I’ve seen among my foreign friends the number 1 reason for leaving Taiwan…
the best summary in my eyes is : if you want your kids to be Taiwanese, and plan on staying here yourself, raise them as Taiwanese. If you want them to be American, go back to the usa.
I just had a baby in Taiwan roughly a year ago, so I will tell you how that went for my wife. I am American and my wife is Taiwanese.
I would say Taiwan would be best as the doctors can explain everything to her in Chinese and most doctors can also explain it to you in English. Cost is another huge thing. Here the monthly pregnancy checkups just cost a couple hundred. The doctor we went to did an ultrasound every visit. I heard at some hospitals they don’t do that. Some of the tests you might have to pay out of pocket for. The most expensive test cost 30k, I think it was a down syndrome test. There were cheaper options, but my wife wanted that one. During delivery you can have your doctor come in and deliver the baby. Not sure if it costs extra. I actually feel bad for our doctor because it seemed like she was always at the hospital.
Delivery costs are another thing. We went to a regular hospital and did everything. I know there are birthing centers, and I believe they cost more. We paid close to 120k. That was for a c-section, pain medicine, a 2 person room, and some special bandages and medicine for a c-section that NHI doesn’t cover. The guest chair/bed in a 2 person room is very uncomfortable. The single room chair/bed looks a lot more comfy.
You will also be expected to do a lot of things for her when she is staying in the hospital. For example if she needs a pad changed or the catheter pee bag emptied, the nurses will show you the first time and then you will be expected to do it the rest of the time. If you ask though they will help.
Check with your wife to see if she has private insurance as well. My wife did and was able to get reimbursed for everything.
As you’re trying to get pregnant, you need to decide if you are going to one of those afterbirth hotel places. (I can’t remember their proper name) The popular ones book up fast. If you do decide you are going to one make sure you book early. We ended up not going to one and instead just had some healthy food delivered to the house. Which was very convenient as I didn’t have to worry about cooking for her.
Getting your kid a US citizenship is very easy. First get an English birth certificate from the hospital with both your wife’s and your name on it and can a few copies while your at it. Then make an appointment at the AIT. They book up pretty fast so you might need to book a month or two in advance. Gather up all the necessary paperwork to prove you are American. There’s a checklist on the AIT’s website. Then you, your wife, and kid go to the AIT. The whole process takes about 2 hours and you will have your kids passport and birth aboard report in about 2 months. After you get the kids passport make another AIT appointment to get a copy of your passport and his notarized for his SSN. The AIT will likely provide this free to you. (they did for me at least). Fill out the SSN application and mail the documents to the SSN office in the Philippines. You have a choice on where to receive the SSN card. In Taiwan which will take a few months, or send it to someone you know in America, like your parents, that takes about 2 weeks.
I’m sure there are lots of things I forgot to mention, so feel free to ask any questions and I will do my best to answer.
This is a God tier level post, extremely helpful. Thank you so much.